Roger Waters returns to Argentina: details of two historic concerts

" We and them ", that's what it's all about. " Us + Them ", this is how Roger Waters baptized his latest tour, which fills it with stadiums in South America and will take it to Estadio Único de La Plata next Tuesday 6 and Saturday 10 November. The clbadics of Pink Floyd and the songs of his solo scene will not be missed.

The song that gives its name to the tour dates from 1973 (from the album The Dark Side of the Moon ), but still as current as all his music. According to Waters, the list will include "a mix of material from my long career, things from my years with Pink Floyd and new songs".

He stated with precision: "Probably 80% will be old material and 20% will be new, but they will all be connected by a general theme, it will be a big show, promised, it will be as spectacular as all my shows. "

The Latin American scene, which began Oct. 9 in San Pablo, Brazil, and ends December 9 in Monterrey, Mexico, is the latest in a series of shows. Roger Waters had started his tour last May in the United States, which crossed Europe and Oceania to reach the southern hemisphere.

In addition to his shows with Pink Floyd, Roger Waters' live performances are highlighted by his intricate audio-visual production and sound to create a unique experience. In addition to offering great production, the British have a sensitivity that surpbades the show itself.

In March 2012, Waters arrived in Argentina to perform a dozen shows at River Plate Stadium. A few months earlier, journalist Gabriela Cociffi (managing editor of Infobae ) had sent her a letter with a request for help that had nothing to see with the musical, the goal was humanitarian. This concern arose from the need to identify Argentine soldiers fallen in the Falklands war and buried under the name of NN. Unnamed bodies that lay in anonymous graves, mothers who did not know which tombstone to mourn their children

According to Cociffi, some time later, the message titled "Letter from Argentina" stated: "He There are 121 unidentified soldiers.As a human rights fighter and antiwar movements, we ask you to help these Malvinan mothers who for more than 30 years, have not nowhere to leave a prayer or a flower. "Waters replied, the exchange has grown and when he arrived in the country, he did not hesitate to propose : "I have a meeting with your president, tell me what you need to ask."

In a letter from Waters to Sharon Halford, member of the Falklands Legislature, he explained, "I am in both these places myself." My grandfather, Sapper George Henry Waters, 1890-1916, is in the British cemetery of Maroeuil, near Arras, in the north of France. my father, Second Lieutenant Eric Fletcher Waters, 1913-1944, although his body was never found, is commemorated on Plate 5 of the Allied Memorial at Monte Casino, in the south of 39; Italy.

So we understand a little more about his interest in the almost forgotten soldiers in the Falklands, when he refers to his father and his grandfather: "If one of these two men, my ancestors , had been buried in unnamed graves and we had the technology to identify their remains, I think my grandmother and my mother would have felt an indescribable anguish if their body had languished in a foreign area … C & # Therefore, when Gaby asked me to participate in launching an initiative to identify those 121 Argentine deaths, I accepted. "

Part of this story is reflected in The Wall the documentary that presents a tour and a personal journey of the musician where he reflects on how the war affected him in his life

South America and Freedom

Last Saturday, Roger Waters played with his group in Curitiba, Brazil. "They told us we could not talk about elections after 10 pm We have 30 seconds to do it, it's our last chance to resist fascism before Sunday, "he added, adding that it would be the" Ele Ñao "campaign. Jair Bolsonaro was a federal deputy for 27 years in the state of Rio de Janeiro and became Monday president of Brazil.

More than half of the Brazilians elected Bolsonaro (in place of Fernando Haddad) to the second and although Waters clearly understands what he was embarking on, he felt the need to give a final warning, at the risk of being arrested for disobeying the order not to speak of the candidates. in the presidential election, the musician said that it coincided with the other percentage, that of the minority that vigorously opposed the new president.

Bolsonaro is a former captain of the. army became famous for its severe speeches of intolerance and for the defense of the ictature that ruled Brazil from 1964 to 1985. In reality, she denies being a dictatorial government. As a politician, he was not particularly highlighted and was even disowned by more than 150,000 people who took to the streets, mostly women, on September 29 under the slogan " he does not do it, "as Waters has repeated.

Winning the rejection of Waters, a friend of noble causes and human rights, is not lacking. In 2014, Bolsonaro told deputies that he would not violate his colleague Maria do Rosário, the Workers Party (PT). The explanation that he gave? "You do not deserve to be raped, you are very ugly."

Also in favor of the victims, former Pink Floyd made a wonderful gesture during her show at Maracana Stadium on October 25th. On this occasion, he invited the family of Marielle Franco, the socialist councilor badbadinated in March, to step on the scene of unknown badbadins. Before the widow of Franco, Waters said: "Marielle believed in human rights like me, but unfortunately, not everyone believes the same thing."

"To fight like Marielle Franco" said the sweater that Waters wore that night, between applause. from those who shouted "eleñao" and the boos of Bolsonaro's followers. In his show in São Paulo, the Briton had stated without fear: "I am against the rise of fascism around the world, and as a defender of human rights, and this includes the right to demonstrate peacefully in the law, I prefer not to live under the command of someone who says that military dictatorship is a good thing. " Meanwhile, on the giant screen, read "Resisting neo-fascism, the United States, Donald Trump, Hungary, Orbán, France, Le Pen, Austria, Kurz, UK, Farage, in Poland, Kaczinsky, Russia, Putin, Brazil, Bolsonaro. "

In Uruguay, Roger Waters did not miss the opportunity to turn around. There, he echoed Palestinians' right to self-determination and participated in the discussion "Meeting with Roger Waters: Palestine and Human Rights Today". The liberation of Palestine is an issue that bothers Waters and he did not want to miss the opportunity to demonstrate it.

As indicated on his tour, it appears from the title that there is always and always. Upcoming concerts in Buenos Aires promise the themes of the group album he shared with David Gilmour ( The Dark Side of the Moon, The Wall, Animals and The Dream of to be here ), a Play of Lights as only a Pink Floyd can offer and a foolproof sensitivity. If in doubt, it is always best to be on Roger Waters' side.

By Marianela Insua Escalante